Occupy strike to halt morning Golden Gate ferries

Published 4:00 am, Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

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A vandalized Ford Mustang sits on Valencia Street on Monday night after vandals with the Occupy march broke the windows and spray painted the car. Police and merchants were hit by vandals along Valencia Street in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, April 30. 2012. less

A vandalized Ford Mustang sits on Valencia Street on Monday night after vandals with the Occupy march broke the windows and spray painted the car. Police and merchants were hit by vandals along Valencia Street ... more

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

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The front of the Mission Police Station is littered with paint, broken glass and debris after vandals with the Occupy march damaged stores, cars and the police station. Police and merchants were hit by vandals along Valencia Street in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, April 30. 2012. less

The front of the Mission Police Station is littered with paint, broken glass and debris after vandals with the Occupy march damaged stores, cars and the police station. Police and merchants were hit by vandals ... more

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

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Eric Koehler, manager of Artzone 461 Gallery, works to shut the gallery's door after fitting it with plywood on Monday night after vandals with the Occupy march broke the windows and door of the gallery. Police and merchants were hit by vandals along Valencia Street in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, April 30. 2012. less

Eric Koehler, manager of Artzone 461 Gallery, works to shut the gallery's door after fitting it with plywood on Monday night after vandals with the Occupy march broke the windows and door of the gallery. Police ... more

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

Occupy strike to halt morning Golden Gate ferries

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Ferries from Larkspur and Sausalito heading into San Francisco will not operate Tuesday until the afternoon in anticipation of a partial-day strike being called by the main union that operates them, officials said Monday.

The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District posted a notice of the service cancellation Monday afternoon, saying ferry service from Larkspur will resume at 2:15 p.m. and from Sausalito at 1:55 p.m.

But workers planning a Tuesday morning strike at the ferries have said they intend to discourage any nonunion replacement workers from operating the boats. The strike would be called by the Inlandboatmen's Union, which has the support of the district's 13 other unions. "We'll have picket lines out there, and will try to make sure people support our cause and don't cross the picket lines," Alex Tonisson, co-chair of the coalition of bridge district unions, said of the planned actions at the ferry terminals. "Right now, it sounds like the strike should be over by 2 p.m.," he added later Monday night.

Plans percolating since last week to picket at the Golden Gate Bridge, and possibly to try to shut it down, have been canceled, Tonisson said. The union also is not planning to disrupt Golden Gate Transit bus service, he said.

The unions' actions are being planned in conjunction with a daylong series of labor-oriented protest events organized for Tuesday throughout the Bay Area by members of Occupy, unions and other groups.

Scenarios for possible strike actions at the Golden Gate Bridge and the bridge district's ferries have changed frequently throughout the past several days, so commuters should be ready for anything, said district spokeswoman Mary Currie.

Law enforcement officials, including officers with the California Highway Patrol, will keep an eye on the bridge throughout the day in case protesters carry through on intentions posted online to attempt a shutdown independently, she said.

"We are prepared, in general, for anything and everything," Currie said.

Among the centerpieces of the day's events in Oakland will be Occupy rallies at noon and 6 p.m. in front of City Hall and protest marches spiraling throughout downtown by the hour.

In San Francisco, a street fair is planned at Market and Montgomery streets at noon, followed by a march ending up at Market and Van Ness Avenue at 2 p.m. There, Occupy activists intend to walk to a nearby vacant building and establish it as the "San Francisco Commune."

"There are going to be a lot of actions all over the place that are planned and that aren't planned, so be prepared for the unexpected," said Chance Martin, an organizer with Occupy San Francisco.

Lawmakers sue N.Y.: Four council members say police used excessive force during an Occupy Wall Street protest. A7

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